Chapter 5: Camping Doesn't Rule

Chris woke the campers up early and had them meet him at the campfire. "Campers, today's challenge will test your outdoor survival skills", he told them. "I'm not gonna lie to you, some of you may not come back alive... Just joking!" He laughed at their shocked expressions, which quickly turned to frowns and glares. "All you have to do is spend one night in the woods. Everything you need is at your team's camp site in the forest. You just have to find it." He picked up a backpack and pulled two maps out. He threw them at the campers, one for each team. "Oh, and watch out for bears. We lost a couple of interns in pre-production. First team back for breakfast tomorrow wins invincibility! Well, off you go!" Leshawna turned to her team. "Did he say there are bears up in here? For real?" Owen smirked. "I had a little encounter with a bear once! Let's just say his head looks real nice up on my mantle." "I hope you're serious, man."

An hour later, the teams were on their way to their camp sites. The Killer Bass passed by a bush, and Izzy stopped. "Hey Sadie, look! Blueberries!" Sadie gasped. "I love, love, LOVE blueberries!" "So do I, let's chow down!"

Confession Cam: Sadie
"Okay, it still sucks that Katie and I are on separate teams, but I think I'm getting used to this. I'm finally making new friends! Sorta. It feels so weird though... then again, so are the other campers."

Meanwhile, the Screaming Gophers were trailing behind Gwen, who was trying to avoid everyone. Heather grumbled. "Ugh! She is so gonna be the next one to leave." "Who?", Trent asked. "Who do you think? The goth girl! I'm the leader, and she won't even listen to me!" Trent glared at her. "Well you are pretty rude, Heather." "So?" "So, you're also pretty harsh. Not everyone wants to listen to you, a nice leader would be better." Heather glared back at him. "I don't care. She is going down." Katie ran up to Heather. "Don't listen to them, you aren't that mean." "Really?" Katie nodded. "Yeah, you're pretty nice after a while." Heather smiled. "Thanks, Katie..."

After eating all the berries, Sadie and Izzy sat down to rest. "Okay, those were so yummy", Sadie said. "They sure were... hey, where's the rest of the team?" "I dunno, they must be nearby..." The girls started yelling "Killer Bass! Killer Bass, where are you!" Sadie gasped. "This is just like when I was seven and I lost my mom at the mall! But Katie isn't with me! How am I gonna survive this!" Izzy patted her shoulder. "Don't worry, I can handle this! Izzy is an expert survivalist!" Sadie frowned. "You don't even know where we are, do you?" "Well, no, I'm not used to this island." "Then why should I even listen to you?" "I got an idea!" Izzy began climbing a tree, jumping from branch to branch until she reached the top. "Okay, now where are those guys?" She leaned forward. "Are they over- whoa!" the tree top pressed forward and snapped in half, and Izzy fell to the ground. "Ow, my head!"

A few hours passed and the teams found their camp sites. The Gophers reached theirs first. "Uh... there's no food here", Owen pointed out. Trent pulled out the map. "This is a survival task... just find some food in the woods." "I wonder if there are any bears around today. Wouldn't it be funny if we made some bear sounds and then they came?" "Will you please shut it?", Heather said, "I'm trying to read here!" She took the map from Trent. "Okay, we're supposed to find our own food. Anyone have some ideas?" "I'm good at finding food!", Owen said. "Good, now get out of here and look for some!" He came back an hour later. "I am man! I brought fish!" Heather frowned. "Are you kidding me?" Trent smiled. "Aw, man, you're awesome! Let me get a fire going." Heather stood up. "How do you know how to fish anyway?" "My grandpa taught me! I caught a shark once, it bit me in the butt! Check it out!" He pulled his shorts down and everyone gasped, groaned and generally looked like they were about to barf.

Later that night, the Killer Bass were setting up tents. Geoff sighed. "Man, where did Izzy go?" Duncan smirked. "Why, did you wanna share a tent with her?" "No, no way! She's so cool though, I'm sure she'd lighten up the mood here." "Yeah, sure." Duncan turned to Courtney now. "So, what's for dinner, woman? I'm starving." "I hope you don't expect me to dignify that question with an answer." DJ walked up to them, smiling and carrying a rabbit. "Hey, look what I found!" "Well, I've never had rabbit stew before, but what the heck, I'm game." DJ backed away. "No! This is my new pet! I'm calling him bunny." He began patting the rabbit's head. Courtney sighed. "Then it looks like we're eating grubs and berries for dinner."

Izzy and Sadie were walking and passed by a tree with some silverware stuck in it. "Izzy, look! A tree with a fork in it! That's good, right?" Izzy smiled. "The others must be that way!" She ran off and Sadie followed, but instead of camp they found a cave. "Well, this'll have to do. We'll be safe here until morning. Don't worry, I can deal with any bears we find." A bat flew out of the cave and Sadie ran away screaming. "Bats on the other hand, I have no plans for."

The Screaming Gophers were having dinner and Trent turned to Owen. "Nice going, man, the fish tastes awesome." "Thanks, man. I owe it all to grandpa." "So, you and your grandpa really fought a bear once?" "Heck yes", Owen said. "It was the scariest day of my entire life. We were out in the woods when we came upon the great beast. I swear, he was ten feet high! He roared his terrible roar, and we grabbed our shotgun. We knew it was either him or us. It was nothing personal, just the law of the wild. And then, BAM! One shot was all it took to fell the great beast. We took his blood and marked ourselves to honor him. It was a good death." Heather scoffed. "Yeah right, there's no way you took down a ten foot bear."

Meanwhile, the Bass were sitting around the campfire. "This reminds me of a really scary story I heard once", Duncan said. "Awesome", Geoff responded. "Tell it, man." "Are you sure? Because the story I'm thinking of is pretty hardcore." "Oh, sure it is", Courtney said. "Alright, but don't say I didn't warn you." He told the story to the end, where "Suddenly, they heard this tap tap tapping on the side of the car, the girl started to freak out, and by this time even the guy was getting a bit scared. So he turned the car on and stepped on it. When they got back to the girl's house, she opened the door and screamed, because there, hanging from the door handle, was the bloody hook. They say that this killer's still alive... wandering these very woods... he could be just about anywhere, really. Maybe even right HERE!" He lifted his right hand, which suddenly had a hook on it, and everyone else screamed. He just laughed maniacally in response. "Duncan!", Courtney yelled, "That was so not funny!" "Oh, yes it was! I just wish it was all on camera! Oh, wait, it is!" He turned and waved at a camera guy. "You are so vile, do your parents even like you?" "I dunno, princess, I haven't asked 'em lately." An owl's cry scared Courtney into huddling against Duncan, but after a few seconds she pushed herself away and glared at him.

The rest of the night was fairly uneventful, except for the rain storm. After sunrise, the campers all ran back to the cabins. The Killer Bass got there first, and Courtney was very excited. "Yes, we're the first ones back!" "Not so fast", Chris said. "It seems you Bass are missing a few fish." The Gophers arrived next. "What was that?", Heather asked. "Does that mean we won?" Chris nodded. "Yes! Yes, we did it!" Suddenly, Sadie and Izzy arrived. "Oh my gosh, that was terrible!", Sadie said. She ran up to Katie and hugged her. "I wish you'd been there, Katie, I was so lonely! Me and Izzy got lost, and then it got dark, and we had to eat fish for dinner, and there were bats..." Courtney coughed. "Um, are you two done with your little love fest?" Sadie nodded. "Good, because thanks to you we just lost the challenge!" "Alright, Killer Bass", Chris said, "one of your fishy butts is going home! Screaming Gophers, you get to have an all expense paid hot tub party tonight!" The Gophers cheered and ran off to their party, while the Bass went to vote someone off.

After they finished, they went to the campfire. "You've all cast your votes", Chris said. "The camper who does not receive a marshmallow must immediately hit the dock of shame, take the boat of losers, and get the heck out of here. And, you can't come back. Now, I can see you're all tired, so tonight I'll make this quick. Safe campers are Courtney, Duncan, DJ, Harold, Geoff, Tyler, and..." Suddenly a helicopter flew over them. "Izzy! We know you're down there! Stay where you are and come along quietly!" Chris looked up. "Wait, what the heck is going on?" A guy with a megaphone yelled "This woman is wanted by the RCMP! We're here to arrest her!" Izzy giggled. "Oh, this is gonna be so much fun!" Then she yelled "YOU'LL NEVER TAKE ME ALIVE!" and ran off toward the woods with the helicopter following her. The others just stared until they were too far off to see. "...Okay", Chris said", "forget the vote. You're down a camper now so we'll call it even. See you all next time!"